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London is known as a bastion of liberal values. But by some measures the capital city is less progressive than you might think. Findings from the British Social Attitudes survey found that residents were the least likely to say that pre-marital sex and homosexuality were rarely or never wrong.

Just 73 per cent held this view about sex before marriage and 67 per cent about same-sex relationships.

The trend is despite London having the largest proportion of gay, lesbian and bisexual people in the country.

Researchers said the regional variations were down to "religious differences" between different areas of the country and Londoners' social conservatism was "largely driven by religious factors".

"Controlling for religion, a factor significantly correlated with views towards pre-marital sex, differences between London and other regions became statistically non-significant," the paper said.

National figures show that while 78 per cent of non-religious people thought that relationships between same-sex adults were not wrong, just 55 per cent of religious people thought the same.

According to the 2011 census, London is the most religiously diverse area of the country, with over a fifth of the population following a faith other than Christianity.

It has the highest proportion of Muslims, at 12.4 per cent, compared to 4.8 per cent across England and Wales, and the lowest proportion of Christians, with less than half of people following Christianity.

The region which was most liberal on these issues was the south of England, where 89 per cent said that sex before marriage was rarely or never wrong and 80 per cent said the same about homosexuality.

Londoners were more predictably liberal on issues such as crime and punishment, with just 53 per cent arguing that criminals deserve stricter sentences, compared to up to 73 per cent in other regions, and 29 per cent in favour of the death penalty, compared to up to 51 per cent in other areas.

Londoners share more in common with the Scots than with their regional neighboursNeil Smith, research director at the National Centre for Social Research

The research, commissioned by charity Trust for London, also showed that London and Scotland had more in common than other areas of the UK, particularly on issues such as benefits.

Both groups were substantially more likely to fall on the pro-welfare end of the scale, with 38 per cent of Londoners and 43 per cent of Scots believing benefits to be too high, compared to 48 per cent to 54 per cent in other regions, and residents of the the two regions were also more likely to be left-wing and engaged in politics.

The report added that on most issues Londoners were becoming liberal more rapidly than other areas.

"Individuals in other regions have also become more liberal, but at a slower rate of change, with the exception of Scotland, where levels of liberalisation match those in London in recent years," the report concluded.

Neil Smith, research director at the National Centre for Social Research said: "While there are clear distinctions in the way Londoners think about certain social and political issues, in quite a few instances - despite the geographical distance and the different make-ups of our populations - Londoners share more in common with the Scots than with their regional neighbours.

"Both are more likely to be engaged in politics, have the greatest proportion of left-affiliated individuals, are more likely to fall on the pro-welfare end of the scale, and are most inclined to sympathise with benefit claimants."